


PSYNCER, PSaiLOR, PSOLDIER, PSY

by Woodswolf



Category: AI: The Somnium Files (Video Game)
Genre: All Timelines, Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-11-22 19:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20879246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woodswolf/pseuds/Woodswolf
Summary: Kaname Date is many different things to many different people across many different times. Here are just a few.





	1. sinking under strAIn

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I wanted to get on the AI:TSF fanfic hype train, so I decided to split this longer fic into individual sections such that I can get this out before the hype dies! :D
> 
> First, a quick rundown of how this fic is going to work:
> 
>   1. Five chapters for five timelines, each of which is color-coded corresponding to how it is in-game;
>   2. Each chapter is a different timeline and focuses on different characters _within_ said timeline;
>   3. Each chapter is completely separate from all of the others and can be read on its own, but they all tie into each other through the theming and other set-dressing;
>   4. Yes, the title is a reference to _Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy_, but this fic has nothing to do with that book/movie. It's just a cool title. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Shizue Kuranushi – better known as “Boss” to her coworkers, “Shizue” to her family, “Kuranushi” to the higher-ups at the MPD, or as a nameless observer to anyone who ends up in the interrogation room at ABIS – knows Kaname Date as one of the best **Psyncers** in the business. This is unbelievably funny to her when she thinks about it, because Shizue could easily count every person who knows his job even _exists_ on all of her fingers and six or seven toes. The number of people who have _done_ his job could be counted on one hand plus one finger.

Date is the best in the business because he’s almost the _only_ one in the business, and as a result, he’s logged more total time in Somnium than anyone who’s bothered to try. Which isn’t saying much – Aiba is firmly in second place, less than a dozen hours behind Date, and she’s only _existed_ for five years.

Over the time they’ve known each other, Shizue has gotten a lot of mileage out of the same few jokes that “best **Psyncer** in the business” must be a very low bar if even _Date_ can qualify for it. He’s _beyond_ dense at times, and some days it makes her wonder how he was ever able to join the force at all. But she still respects him a lot for what he can do – and Date knows this, because he teases her right back that he could get a desk job in some office if she really thinks he’s _that_ terrible.

But this morning, sitting in the ABIS interrogation room six stories underground, the mood is much more somber.

“I know you were close to her,” she says carefully. “But I still have to explain why you were found cradling her dead body.”

Across the interrogation table, Date is staring solemnly at his hands. When he finally speaks, his voice is very quiet. “I didn’t kill her, Boss.”

“I know you didn’t,” Shizue says. She thinks of how they found him, confused and shell-shocked, and how she had to step in to take him from the scene, weeping quietly and calling her name. “Higher-ups will too, as soon as the autopsy report is filed. But there are other questions.”

Date seems slightly more alert for a moment before the AI-Ball pops out of the left socket and falls down onto the table. Before it lands, a rubbery substance pops out of the rear portion to absorb the impact and prevent damage to the electronics. The rubber material shapes itself into Aiba’s bear-like form a moment later.

“I can verify that Date is _not_ the New Cyclops Killer, nor is he in any way responsible for Shoko Nadami’s death,” Aiba says. “My memories, recordings, and logs are backed up in many disparate servers with nigh-unbreakable encryption. Pewter is the only one who would have the proper permissions to attempt to overwrite, modify, or delete them, and even he would not be able to do so without my awareness. Date is innocent; my recordings should suitably confirm his alibi.” She pauses for a moment. “But I sense that is not the question that you intended to ask.”

“No, Aiba, but thank you,” Shizue replies, then sighs. “My questions are only for the record. There’s no point making serious accusations against Date when Pewter has already confessed his involvement.”

Aiba nods and backs away towards the corner of the table. Shizue briefly fidgets in her chair before continuing.

“Iris Sagan’s left eye was removed from the socket,” Shizue begins. “Traces of her blood were found on your gloves, suggesting that you removed it. Why?”

“The Psync machine in the factory is different,” Date says. His voice is very quiet and slow. “You need to remove the left eye for it to work.”

“But why did you _remove_ the eye rather than dislocating it?”

“Not enough time to be careful. She… after the Psync…”

“Iris died just before midnight, less than three minutes after Date finished Psyncing with her,” Aiba offers after Date trails off. “The amount of blood lost in the removal did not significantly impact her survival chance, nor did it ultimately contribute to her death.”

“Thank you, Aiba,” Shizue says, again. “I’ve read your report, but I’d like to hear Date’s side of the story as well.”

“Boss, with all due respect,” Aiba replies, her tone harsher, more urgent, “I think he needs more time to recover before this will be of any use.”

“It’s been over a month.”

“I believe he’s currently experiencing lingering bad side effects from the first time we Psynced with Iris,” Aiba counters. “These side effects were potentially exacerbated by the second Psync, not to mention the trauma of her death. He needs time to sort out his own thoughts from those injected into him by Iris’s delirium. And there’s a chance that he might not recover from it, even with time.”

Date looks up at Aiba. His single eye is hollow. “Aiba, it’s fine, I can –”

“Date.” She’s turned her entire body to look at him now, and her tone of voice is hard to read. Not because Shizue doesn’t recognize it, it’s just not one she hears often from Aiba. A mixture of sternness and concern and… _regret?_

Aiba doesn’t say anything but his name, so Shizue doesn’t have a chance to better interpret Aiba’s tone – but after a few moments under Aiba’s stare, Date backs down. That in and of itself is surprising to her; it seems evident to her that Date and Aiba’s dynamic has shifted since Shizue has last seen either of them.

Aiba turns back to Shizue a moment later, tone still serious but in a different way. “I know you need him here to be able to finish the investigation,” she says softly, almost timidly. Shizue has never known Aiba to be timid. “But _he needs time,_ and pushing him to recover can only make it worse. I’m sorry.”

Shizue considers this for a moment before nodding. “Take care of him, Aiba,” she says as she stands up to leave the room.

“We’re taking care of each other,” Aiba says, before the rubber deflates and stores itself back inside the AI-Ball. Date stares at it on the table for a moment before he takes it and begins to re-insert it into his eye socket.

Shizue turns and leaves the room before Date is finished. She leaves the door to the interrogation room open wide such that he can let himself out, and goes to sit in her office instead. It’s just as haphazardly decorated as it usually is, but the colorful surroundings do little to improve her mood.

Date is the best **Psyncer** in the business, she reminds herself. He’ll get back on the job eventually. He’ll be okay.

He has to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it wasn't clear, this one was set in the blue timeline. That'll be the general theme for the upcoming chapters - whatever text color appears the most is the timeline it's set in.
> 
> Can't say I'm the happiest with this chapter overall, but it's good enough, I guess. Still feel like this is a bit OOC for both Boss and Date, but considering the whole point of the blue timeline is Date being OOC, it's... still not really acceptable to me, but it'll do, considering I can't figure out how to fix the ending. :/
> 
> Also Boss is a disaster lesbian and haters can die mad LMAO


	2. sailing on the brAIn

Ota Matsushita has any number of names and aliases he goes by depending on who’s asking. There’s his main To-Witter handle; a nebulous amount of sub accounts (the exact number of which varies depending upon his mood); his pseudonym, Odoin Kyoma, which he has yet to publish under; as well as a long list of various other nicknames and handles and inside jokes that he’s picked up as self-identifying labels over the years.

“Mom, I’m home,” he says as he walks in. He just got off work, and it’s pretty late; sometimes Mayumi is asleep by now, but usually she isn’t. Judging from her absence in the front room, and the silence from the back, tonight seems like it’s a sometimes when she is.

He throws his bag down on one of the tables. Usually he’d be more careful with it, but he’s too tired to care right now. Work took a lot out of him today, and he momentarily considers turning in early, but finally decides that he should at least finish writing the latest chapter of his novel before he turns in for the night. If nothing else, he can upload it to Dicelo Disk for Mizuki to read and provide suggestions whenever she has time.

He’s just about to head back to his room when he notices something out of place.

It’s actually three things, he realizes as he’s walking over to it. The first is a folded up piece of paper with his name written on the outside, which he opens up to see is a note. It’s from his mother – her handwriting is far from perfect, but still crisp and neat, and the minor imperfections do little other than add charm.

_Ota,_

_I went to FamiSto today while you were at work to buy ingredients. Leftovers are in the fridge – it’s your favorite!_

_I got something else for you while I was there, too. I’m going to get some rest, but I’ll see you in the morning._

_I love you, Ota._

_– Mom_

Lifting up the note reveals the second thing: an Odoroki-man chocolate. He opens up the foil wrapper and takes a bite, savoring the flavor while he ponders over the third object.

The framed picture was placed next to the note and the chocolate, perhaps to draw attention to them more than anything else – or perhaps Mayumi moved it here to the counter so she could look at it while she was cooking, and then placed the chocolate and note next to it later. Ota doesn’t think it matters which order the objects came to sit on the counter, only that they ultimately did.

He is very tired, Ota tells himself, and he can never think straight when he’s tired. That’s why the odd combination of the nostalgia of the picture, the taste of the chocolate, and the words of his mother’s note makes his eyes water a little. It’s just because he’s tired, he wants to say, even though he knows it isn’t.

It’s at this moment that, for some reason, he suddenly thinks of Kaname Date. They don’t see each other too often – Ota is almost always working, but sometimes they see each other on the weekends, or they occasionally text. But Date is more responsible for all of this than _anyone_, and Ota couldn’t be more grateful.

He vaguely remembers one of Date’s coworkers – the scientist guy who was dressed like some futuristic cosplayer – explaining how Psyncing works, before he sedated him. Something about how the human mind is like an ocean, and Psyncers like Date would dive in to find information. There was a bit more to it than that, but Ota doesn’t remember; he only heard the explanation once, and then he went under, and when he woke up again they were done.

But what he does remember for sure is what Date did for him – or rather, for _them_. Ota doesn’t remember anything of his own Psync (though he thinks the scientist must’ve explained that away, too), but he does remember hearing about Mayumi’s. And more than anything, he remembers his mother coming home.

Her dementia wasn't truly cured, Ota knows. But Date bought her time. And honestly, that’s good enough for him.

Before getting tangled up in all of this, Ota was somewhat distant from his mother and thought of her as more of a hassle than anything else. To say the least, things changed after Iris and Ota were nearly murdered and Mayumi was framed for the crime. And then everything after, with both of them trying to protect each other, and Date helping her dementia, and the two of them reconciling…

_It keeps coming back to Date,_ Ota realizes as he chews the chocolate and reminisces. _I wonder why._

Some part of him, immediately, can begin to rationalize it. The logical part of his mind takes what it knows and fashions it into a half-formed sketch of an idea, and the more poetic part of his mind fiddles with it until it finds something it likes, and then it all clicks.

_If the human mind is an ocean,_ the logical part begins, laying out plans and blueprints, shapes and ideas, _then perhaps diving is not the write metaphor. Perhaps it’s swimming, or scuba-diving, or surfing, or…_

_Sailing,_ the poetic part offers. _Boats on the water, ships at sea, sailing to new horizons to find things that are lost and bring them home._

_If the human mind is an ocean,_ the logical part concurs, _and Psyncers are meant to help others find things within it, then that would make Kaname Date a _**psailor**_._

Ota will be the first to admit that he doesn’t know Date as well as other people in his life – surely his co-workers and friends, or even Mizuki would know him better overall. But this abstract realization, this connecting-of-dots about _why_ Date works where he does… for a moment, Ota feels like he understands him completely.

The last of the chocolate has melted away on his tongue, so Ota stands from where he’s been leaning against the counter and takes the picture frame back to where it usually sits on the ledge next to the phone. As he begins to head back to his room, he takes out his phone and sends a quick text to Date, because he figures the sooner the better.

Ota’s decided that he wants to be Date’s friend. A real friend, rather than just a half-acquaintance who’s better friends with his twelve-year-old roommate. Maybe nothing will come of texting Date to ask if he wants to meet up at the newly-reopened Sunfish Pocket sometime, but as far as Ota’s concerned, he thinks it can’t hurt to try.

And the text doesn’t hurt either way – because with everything Date’s done for his family, Ota’s never going to stop saying thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter was actually a lot easier to write than expected! It started off really hard because I had no idea where to start off to end up at a vague desired endpoint, and it all seemed rather hopeless until I just jumped into it and actually committed to things. There was at least enough leeway to get something out to that point where I needed it to be for it to fit in with the theme - because the chapters I really wanted to write for this fic are coming up. They aren't quite ready yet, but Iris's in particular is going to be really fun to see what you guys think of it :) Shame that the endings of these first two chapters have sucked ass, at least in my view. It's so hard to come to what seems like a viable conclusion/last word/etc. with this fic, I don't know why. It's all just weird.
> 
> Also shoutouts to AI:TSF for having the bootleg naming convention, it was really fun. For everyone wondering what "Dicelo Disk" is, it's my fake name for Bootleg Google Drive (more explanation on the name at the end of this). There's straight-up no way Ota's printing his stuff off and sending it to Mizuki that way, and it would've felt disingenuous to just say "Google Drive" when for the rest of this fic I'm using all of the weird fake terms the game came up with. Speaking of those fake terms: when I first played, it took me a full HOUR to understand 8-12. Like I was just going on through the game thinking about how "oh this must be some weird store chain they have in japan idk" and then I Realized that it was just 7-11 and I felt such shame. I still don't get "FamiSto", though; does anyone know if that's also a reference?
> 
> (Fun trivia for nerds: Google was named that after a googol (a _really_ big number - 10^100) but it was accidentally misspelled and the error was caught too late before all of the branding and stuff kicked in; a "drive" is an object used for digital file storage. A decillion is also another big number (though it's many, many orders of magnitude smaller than a googol), and by slightly misspelling it (switching the I and E and dropping one L) and shortening it, you get "dicelo"; a "disk" is another object used for digital file storage.)


End file.
